//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The War Begins (Edited) 
// Story: Sometimes the Truth Can Be Deceiving 
// by UnamusedWaffle 
//------------------------------//

“ATTENTION!” Captain Armor’s voice boomed throughout the crystal hallways. The tall ceiling and the hardened walls closed in on the line of soldiers as the young moon’s rays reflected onto Blister. His attention was ripped away from the cold, hard floor, and forced him into the proper position. The Captain’s nervous look put most of the guards present on edge as he slowly paced up and down the line, his metal horseshoes clanking against the cold floor. “At ease.”

“I’ll keep this brief,” he started, “The rumors have been getting out of hoof, so let me put them to rest. Yes, there is a suspected threat of attack against the Crystal Empire, but by who and when, neither I nor the Princesses are sure. However, it is shaping up to be big.” 

Nodding to the pink alicorn to his right, he took a few tentative steps back. “Though some unfortunate shortcomings in our intelligence have left the gaps in our knowledge, since we do in fact know it’s coming this time around, we’re not taking any chances.”

With a slight nod, a door on the far left of the hallway leading to conference room slowly but confidently opened, revealing three figures. The first emerged regally, giving off an air of superiority while at the same time valuing everypony, as any proper ruler would. Her quad-colored mane blowing in a non-existent breeze. The second figure, seemingly surrounded by an eternal starry night, made her presence known as she was flanked by a third, smaller and slightly hunched over figure. Upon entering, the smaller one’s look of uneasiness was mirrored by the guards directly in front of her.

Noticing a cold stare in Blister’s eyes, Cadence quietly made her way over to Blister while the others’ attention was on the Princesses. “I know you can’t resist the snarky comments, but please refrain from pissing them off, First Lieutenant.” Her pleading eyes only earning a gruff “Yes, your majesty” out of him. 

Blister’s eyes wandered back over to the three new figures in the room as Cadence rejoined her husband, whispering into his ear. What he hadn’t noticed before were the rows of Canterlot Royal Guard Officers behind Celestia, Luna, and Twilight. Using some estimations and quick thinking, he deduced that there were about 80 officers present. ‘That just means more low ranks getting in my way.’ Blister’s eyes glazed over slightly, before widening, a subtle yet small smile made its way onto his lips. ‘And Celestia hasn’t even given us a plan yet,’ he thought slyly. 

“Hello everypony,” Celestia’s motherly gaze wavered a little when her eyes passed over Blister, “As you all already know, an attack on the Crystal Empire is likely due any day now, so as extra defense, an additional 800 guards from Canterlot will be assisting the Empire’s 1,200 troops. Princess Luna and myself will be giving orders from on and off the battlefield, respectively, so your utmost cooperation would be greatly appreciated.” 

Noticing a slight shift in demeanor, Blister’s attention was dragged to Twilight as she gave him an almost imperceptible look before returning to her standard facade. That made Blister pay attention again to the ones giving the orders as the Princesses returned their masks of neutrality. His ice-blue eyes then glazed over again. After a few short moments, his head snapped back to attention at the mention of his name, lime green mane ruffling from the sudden movement. 

“Lieutenant Blister, do you understand your assignment?” Blister’s gaze softened as he brought his head up to meet the Princess’ eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty" he said, saluting before she continued on as if nothing ever happened.

“Finally, should our formation fail and become overrun, the Crystal Heart and the Elements of Harmony are our last resorts, in that order. Understood?” Nopony dared ask a question. “Dismissed.” As the guards broke for dinner, Cadence was able to sneak one last glance in towards Blister before she shook her head and turned back to start speaking with the other three Princesses. With concern lacing their expressions, the four goddesses began to exit the crystalline room, their hoof guards echoing off of the large hallway walls.

Before Blister could leave the room, he employed his horn for the first time that day, trying to sneak a glimpse at the silent messages being sent between the Princesses via their own horns. ‘This spell wasn’t illegal back in my day,’ Blister thought as his horn was silently cast in a shadowy gray light. 

After cancelling the spell once the Princesses were far enough away, he was able to gather that his orders were to gather up a small platoon of mostly lower ranking infantry and report to the northeast section of the empire and set up a perimeter defense once the enemy was spotted. So basically, die the second the enemy launched an attack. 

With a heavy sigh, Blister reluctantly resisted the urge to give Celestia a piece of his mind and went to eat dinner. With a slight fatigue starting to overtake him, Blister enveloped a tray, two apples and some hay fries and plopped down at a table, off in the corner. Ignoring the cold and wary looks originating from other tables, Blister pulled an earpiece out of his magic storage unit and, without detection, placed it in his ear. 

‘Jarvis, talk to me, the satellites get any new information?’ He thought as he tentatively bit into an apple. He slammed his hoof down onto the table as Jarvis relayed the news, ‘Sir, nothing new has come up, we only know as much as the Princesses do.’ With a heavy sigh and a wave of his hoof towards the other tables, he asked ‘Is the Mark 7 ready for deployment yet?’ 

A simple ‘No, sir’ was all it took for another hoof slam down onto the table, earning even more stares and glances. What almost set him off however were the set of hooves nervously approaching him. Broadcasting another sigh, Blister turned towards the now frozen Private standing in front of him. His forelegs were shaking, eyes unfocused and wings threatening to jettison him out of hell. “Yes Private Thunder Spin?” Blister’s cold, piercing eyes tore into Thunder Spin’s resolve as he straightened himself and gulped. “Uhh, s-sir,” his eyes refused to focus on one thing at a time, “are y-you alright? You seem a-angry.” 

Blister gave a subtle smile before fading into an irritated frown. “Yeah, no shit, Sher-” “Hey! Go easy on him, he’s just a Private!” 

Blister’s head snapped towards the feminine voice that cut him off, “Piss off Crescent, you’re not involved in this! Besides, ya barely let me respond.” he growled back. The Master Sergeant slouched back in her chair and resumed eating, grumbling all the while. She considered going through the paperwork to add another complaint to her superior's file, but decided against it when she heard his response to the Private. 

He began with a deep breath, “My apologies Private, the reason I’m angry is a personal issue, nothing of your concern, but thank you nonetheless.” With a wave of his hoof, the Private and his bewildered expression returned to his seat across from the Master Sergeant as a dumbfounded face adorned her features. 

Before any questions could be asked, the alarms sounded as somepony came over the loudspeaker: “Attention all units, I repeat, attention all units! The Griffon army has been spotted advancing towards the Southwest quadrant of the Empire. I repeat, The Griffon army has been spotted advancing towards the Southwest quadrant of the Empire. Follow your orders and DON’T DIE!” Blister rolled his eyes at the loudspeaker pony as they failed to hide the panic in their voice.

Amidst all the chaos of ponies running around, orders being barked and the fearful expressions that found its way onto every Private, one thing was certain. 

The Crystal Empire was under attack.

And the Griffons would hold nothing back as they charged the Empire into oblivion.